Tanzania’s exports to the East African Community rose by 71 per cent from $263 million in 2009 to $450 million last year.

However imports from the EAC market dropped from $310 million in 2009 to $285 million last year, Minister for East African Cooperation Samuel Sitta said.

The exports were mainly mosquito nets, domestic utensils and transformers. Others are mattresses, rice, cement, plastic products, paper products and machinery. Commodities sourced from the EAC market includes petrol, drugs and soaps, metal products, edible oil, bottles and bottle caps, utensils, salt, spare parts and vehicles.

“Tanzania exports in the EAC have been growing progressively since 2005, a trend that indicates the country is benefiting from the regional integration” Mr Sitta said.

Investment destination

The implementation of the Customs Union, he added, made Tanzania an investment destination, citing 33 projects valued at $74 million that were set up in the country in 2010 alone.

”Investors put their funds in sectors such as industries, construction, tourism, transport and agriculture,” he said.

According to the government, the investment had created employment opportunities for 4,328 Tanzanians in 2010, up from 1,575 in 2009.
Shadow minister for finance Zitto Kabwe said Tanzania is in a good position to become the giant economy of the trading bloc, only if it maximises the utilisation of its abundant natural resources.

Mr Kabwe said the economy has been growing at 6.7 per cent a year compared with Kenya and Uganda’s five per cent.
“Kenya, the region’s economic powerhouse has a GDP of $24.5 billion, compared with Tanzania’s $23 billion, Uganda $16 billion, Rwanda $5 billion and Burundi at $1.3 billion” he added.

More intra-EAC trade

Intra-EAC trade has soared from $1.85 billion in 2005 to $3.5 billion in 2009, while total foreign direct investment has increased from $910 million to $1.72 billion in the same period, President Jakaya Kikwete told the Africa Investment Forum 2011 held in Dar es Salaam recently.
According to the EAC Secretary General Dr Richard Sezibera, there is a generally fair distribution of the benefits from increased trade among member states under the Customs Union arrangement.

Dr Sezibera said following the signing of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement in December, 2010, benefits are set to increase with significant gains in cross-border investments and foreign direct investment flows. In real growth terms, the region’s combined GDP has risen to $73 billion, up from $20 billion in 1997.

The membership of the EAC has enlarged from the original three — Kenya Uganda and Tanzania — to five toincludes Rwanda and Burundi, which joined in 2007.

The region today provides a sizeable market of a combined population of 130 million and an area of 1.85 million square kilometres.